Tip of the Day – 6/9/2014

Clownfish are the single most popular group of fish in the aquarium trade, there’s no doubt. Even before the release of ‘Finding Nemo’, the small orange and white fish held a special place in the hearts of aquarists all over. Wanting to give their clowns a suitable home, many bought anemones hoping the two would become an inseparable pair. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out as planned. Sometimes a clownfish will take to a host anemone without hesitation, oftentimes beating up a newly added (and likely still stressed) anemone as it swims in and around the tentacles. But other times, clownfish will never even look the anemone’s way, choosing to not take up residence in the flowy tentacled invertebrate but instead choosing something a bit more obscure, like a coral or even a piece of equipment. Clownfish do the darndest things. Anyhow, it can be a frustrating experience for the aquarist, but really, there’s nothing to worry about. Clownfish seem to wander about a lot in captivity, not even sticking to one anemone in some cases, but moving about all over. It’s just in their nature. So don’t get worked up if you clown turns its nose up to a potential host, but if you insist on forcing the relationship, you might want to consider a different anemone.